eating/snack after dinner

toffee322

i always want to snack/eat after dinner.. is it because i dont eat enough during dinner or it's just my mind?!!?! i feel i eat a lot in dinner.. i probably underestimate it in my log... what should i do? how to tell if it's my mind or my tummy??? i'm always over calories everyday... any comments/suggestions? thanks in advance!

Pebble321

It's a hard one - sometimes these things are just habits and other times its maybe your body needing more energy to get through the day. If you enjoy a snack after dinner, why not plan your day so that you leave some extra cals so you can have it and feel good about it.

And if you are eating over every day, then I would be looking to see if you
a. aren't eating enough and should up your calories anyway.
b. aren't making good food choices, so you aren't getting enough nutrition so you're still hungry
c. need to plan better to stay within your cals
d. need to change your habits so you don't snack too much at certain times or with certain activities (this is one of my problems!)

I haven't looked at your diary, so these are just generic suggestions, I hope they help.

Helloitsdan

How tall are you?
How much do you weight?
How many calories are you eating daily?

toffee322

How tall are you?
How much do you weight?
How many calories are you eating daily?

i'm 5'3 and weight 115 lbs on average.. (more at night i think)... i have fairly small bones and had always been petite when i was younger.. now that i'm 30 i've got a big belly and bigger hip.. i just want to lose few lbs and get rid of my problem areas... i think i eat a lot for my size.. sometimes i feel ashamed..

queenovhearts

I love eating after dinner. I struggle with this too, especially on days where I went really well. I've noticed that drinking green tea with dinner makes me feel fuller and less likely to be hungry later. Also, you need to snack on better foods. Its great to have a treat like waffles, but maybe choose to have an apple or apricot instead of banana chips. We all have bad days, just remember that go get back on track tomorrow-clean slate.

Pebble321

With your stats you might be better eating at maintenance calories (or set a 1/2 pound week weight loss goal) and concentrate on strengthening up your muscles so you look leaner and tighter and feel better, regardless of what the scale says.

I think it is also a useful exercise to start thinking about why you eat, especially if it is binging or snacking needlessly. I found the book "Eating Less" by Gillian Riley had some really useful stuff in it for me.

Now I've lost some weight, my goals for this year aren't related to the scale at all - I want to get stronger (and leaner!) and learn better habits and have a better understanding about my relationshiop with food so I don't put the weight back on again. While I'd like to see the number of KG on the scales go down, it's really not a priority).

Good luck!

XXXMinnieXXX

I'd make your goal -1lb a week max, if its not already as your so slim. Its not good to not be close to goal when your so slim as your body starts eating away at muscle if your not feeding it enough. This is what the dietitians have told me. As you get close to goal you have to really slow down weight loss and concentrate on toning x

taso42

Try increasing protein and fibrous veggies.

Consider eating 5-6 smaller meals a day. Spacing it out that way is helpful for some folks (like me).

glendeb

We have dinner early as we have young children, so I snack after dinner. But I limit myself to a cuppa and one thing sweet.

JessicaHoskins

Here's a tip to tell if you're still hungry or not...drink water with your meal & then wait 30 minutes. If you still feel hungry after 1/2 hr; it's ok to go ahead & eat a little more food.

girlholiday

I'm a snacky person, and always want to snack on something after dinner. I always set aside part of my dinner in a tupperware, and if I feel like eating something later that's what I go to. I keeps me from over eating at dinner, and leaves me with something to eat later on.

Tonight, I had chicken and brown rice with roasted broccoli and red peppers. I set aside chicken and the veggies. My snack was that thrown into a wheat tortilla with some salsa.

Helloitsdan

How tall are you?
How much do you weight?
How many calories are you eating daily?

i'm 5'3 and weight 115 lbs on average.. (more at night i think)... i have fairly small bones and had always been petite when i was younger.. now that i'm 30 i've got a big belly and bigger hip.. i just want to lose few lbs and get rid of my problem areas... i think i eat a lot for my size.. sometimes i feel ashamed..

Perfect weight for 5'3" is 115lbs-120. Why are you dieting down? You need to gain lean mass to get rid of the problem areas. So IMO eat that snack!
If getting rid of fat to fix "problem areas" has you dieting down way below ideal weight you could get yourself into some serious health issues!
Look into adding lean mass in small phases!
Find out your TDEE and on lifting days you add 20% to your calories above TDEE.
On rest days you cut 20% from TDEE to keep the fat gains down completely.

high protein is a must as well as high fat!

PM me if you want specific numbers.

TurnLeftNow

I would suggest maybe changing your diary up a bit. You seem to be eating about the same thing every day for breakfast. Maybe smaller meals in the morning so you have more room to snack at night if that is your problem time. I am a night eater, so I try and save my calories for later on.

Drinking a glass or two of water before you feel like going for more food is a good suggestion. If you are still feeling hungry then let yourself have a snack. Usually the more water you drink the less inclined you are to eat more.

angel_north

Maybe bored, mad at yourself or a snacker in front of the TV type like most in the winter. Shave off calories from all day so you can afford a lite "I did well today" snack as a reward..

RAFValentina

You're on a pretty steep calorie goal to lose weight. I changed mine to lose 0.5lb a week and found it easier to stay under without finding the whole thing too much of a chore and horrible..

Try working out a little longer to earn a few extra calories back.
You could also reduce things like meat by a 1/4 of the portion size, so istead of 4 oz, try 3oz .
Same with the rice, you could spare yourself a 100 calories there per day.
You choose quite calorie dense snacks, they are "healthy" but in weight loss, in those quantities, they're quite high in calories and natural sugars; try replacing them with low calorie density filling foods such as crudites or if you can't do without the taste, then reduce the portion size and make a conscious effort to "nibble" with a low/zero calorie drink (water ideal!) to make it last longer and help your food in your belly "register" that it's there with your brain.

Other "tactics" are trying to drink about 500ml/1pint of water before eating meals and "bulking" out meals with low calorie things such as clear soup and salad (without calorific dressings... a spritzing of vinegar, salt and pepper or lemon juice should do!)

All things that have worked for me anyway!

toffee322

With your stats you might be better eating at maintenance calories (or set a 1/2 pound week weight loss goal) and concentrate on strengthening up your muscles so you look leaner and tighter and feel better, regardless of what the scale says.

I think it is also a useful exercise to start thinking about why you eat, especially if it is binging or snacking needlessly. I found the book "Eating Less" by Gillian Riley had some really useful stuff in it for me.

Now I've lost some weight, my goals for this year aren't related to the scale at all - I want to get stronger (and leaner!) and learn better habits and have a better understanding about my relationshiop with food so I don't put the weight back on again. While I'd like to see the number of KG on the scales go down, it's really not a priority).

Good luck!

thanks! i always had my MFP set at 1/2 lb a week...but i always go over the calories.. i know i've been bad snacking junk food.. i was thinking maybe have a protein shake which is about 100 calories after dinner would help.. i'm gonna try this tonight.. i tried eating fruits but it's just not the same!! :X

toffee322

I'd make your goal -1lb a week max, if its not already as your so slim. Its not good to not be close to goal when your so slim as your body starts eating away at muscle if your not feeding it enough. This is what the dietitians have told me. As you get close to goal you have to really slow down weight loss and concentrate on toning x

thanks! i always had my goal set at 0.5 lb per week.. it's very hard to lose even 1 lb when you are not very heavy to begin with.. i do a lot of yoga and it really helps with toning the arms and the legs.. but noy my belly :X